Many of them just move the water around instead of soaking up any water. I have 2 that are excellent at this and also polishing, but the rest seem to be bin material however for £1 from a supermarket I guess you cannot complain too much.

Many of them just move the water around instead of soaking up any water. I have 2 that are excellent at this and also polishing, but the rest seem to be bin material however for £1 from a supermarket I guess you cannot complain too much.

I think the reason for this is the chemicals used in manufacture of the cloths which repel water.

The answer is to launder new cloths several time before use, preferably omitting any fabric conditioners, they'll perform much better.

As segapod says wash them, do not use fabric conditioner/softener on them as (it will make them repel water) then air dry them (no tumble drying) which should sort them out. Failing that'd if you want to go for exceptional quality take a look on any of the car detailing forums for recommendations of which ones to go for.

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As with many things this is also a complex area full of different products for different uses and absolutely full of cheap rubbish!

Personally I have found these to be the best from ideal World (they were a gift a few years back and I have had them since) and are IDEAL for car and caravan paintwork, eg. waterless cleaners, waxing and so on. - the 80 Polyester/20 Polyamide mix makes them perfect for this type of work.

Hi all. During a recent "sorting out " exercise I have temporarily mislaid my very first and all time favourite Microfibre Cloth.

It was bought some 12yrs ago whilst on vacation in KIngston,Ontario,Canada;when I was given the grand tour of a few of the big names such as Walmart (ASDA) and Office Depot (Office World and several others including Home Depot (B&Q).

I bought my very first Microfibre Cloth from Canadian Tire (no I have not spelt it wrongly).

It was marketed under the name of Spontex and could be machine washed at 60* and came as a 300mm x 300mm bound edges cloth,the same product was also sold under the name of AquaPur but came as a 300mm x 400mm bound edge cloth.

They very closely resemble suede. I have found that they absorb water best when wetted and squeezed dry before being used.

Their 300 gsm premium cloths were excellent for all round cleaning, they also sell the detailing products as well but we only used the cloths and glass cloths

We currently use Exel Supercloth 250gsm, seems you can find them for sale in smaller quantities on eBay etc, they last us for ages and we are using them every day and washing them.

Most of the cheap microfibre you find kicking about on the web or cheap in supermarkets tends to be rubbish that deforms after washing and doesn’t last 500 plus washes. Whilst we are on the subject to washing:

1. Machine wash separately

2. Don’t use fabric conditioner

3. Don’t use too much washing powder

4. Wash at 40 degrees generally, they can be washed at higher temp but usually not necessary.

5. Don’t use any products that will block the fibres, they are ruined with cream cleaner, anything with a bleach based element, or any product that dries hard and leaves deposits.

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I agree with the yellow Costco ones, bought a shed load and have washed the old ones umpteen times. To dry I use a woolly mammoth (yes that is the name), big and fluffy. The Korean cloths seem to have a very good name.

Canadian Tire, I love it in there, an adult sweet shop-full of stuff you know you do not need but do! You used to get CT dollars with your change.

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Just to add a professionals opinion on microfibre cloths. We get through 100's of them each year, and have tested pretty much every different one available to us, and I totally agree with a few of the comments above the Kirkland cloths from Costco are by far the most superior.

They wash up great, and last us for ages, and pretty much every pro I know buys these cloths over any other brand.

A quick tip for cloths that become beyond washing, and clogged up. Fill a bucket with boiling water, and the cheapest non-bio powder you can find. Leave them soaking for over 20 minutes, remove 1 at a time and then lay out flat on a good board of wood, and simply pressure wash the cloth. You will be amazed on how satisfying that job can be, and i'd say 95% of the cloths you thought were unusable, will come up really clean again, then simply wash through the machine as per normal.

Be aware, this can leave a trail of wax and grime down the driveway and street, so do this with care.

Lastly, we save up and donate all our cloths that are beyond what we can use to all the local garages in our area. They use them for all sorts and it's a great way to stay in favour with your local mechanics.

As with many things this is also a complex area full of different products for different uses and absolutely full of cheap rubbish!

Personally I have found these to be the best from ideal World (they were a gift a few years back and I have had them since) and are IDEAL for car and caravan paintwork, eg. waterless cleaners, waxing and so on. - the 80 Polyester/20 Polyamide mix makes them perfect for this type of work.